A former New York bank manager has been sentenced to 13 months in prison for allegedly stealing over $200,000 from a now-deceased bank customer.
James Gomes, 43, of New York, used his position as a branch manager of a “international financial institution” to fraudulently access a customer’s bank account in order to embezzle about $208,938.68 from a client who has since died, the US Department of Justice revealed Wednesday.
However, the authorities did not disclose which financial institution was involved or who the anonymous victim was.
Gomes was required to return the same amount he allegedly stole in restitution and forfeiture of criminal proceeds for exploiting his bank position, in addition to serving a year in jail and being placed on three years of supervised release.
The IRS Criminal Investigation unit and the FDIC’s Office of Inspector General carried out the investigation, which was overseen by the Money Laundering and Asset Recovery department of DOJ’s criminal division. The local Morristown Police Department also provided assistance.
Gomes reportedly enrolled the customers’ accounts in the bank’s online services by connecting his personal phone number to their accounts without their consent, according to the Justice Department.
The federal government claims that Gomes used the customer’s name in the phony email address he created to hide his identity and “engage in fictitious conversations with his own official bank email address to make it appear that the customer was communicating with him,” DOJ added.
According to court statements and legal records, he allegedly carried out the fraudulent transactions between January and April 2020, even after the bank client passed away on April 5, 2020.
Read Also: Breakup Horror: Iowa Man Shoots Ex-Girlfriend’s Parents as They Help Her Move Out
Gomes “fraudulently transferred the customer’s funds” to his personal bank and investment accounts at other financial institutions in March and April of that year.
To far, the MLARS Bank Integrity Unit has collected about $25 billion in penalties.
According to the department, it looks into and prosecutes banks and other financial organizations whose actions “threaten the integrity of the individual institution or the wider financial system,” including their officials, managers, and staff.
The Justice Department further stated that since 2010, a number of financial institutions have been prosecuted by its Bank Integrity Unit for alleged violations of the Bank Secrecy Act, money laundering, sanctions, and other laws or offenses.
